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David Shortte’s AFL Round 2 Preview

Posted on | Posted by David Shortte

THURSDAY

Hawthorn v Sydney, MCG, 4.30pm

Hawthorn were disappointing in their opening round loss to an undermanned GWS outfit but they showed sharp improvement last week defeating Essendon by 62 points. Jack Gunston was first class once again slotting 5 goals while Nick Watson chimed in with 4. James Sicily has had a great start to the season and Jai Newcombe has been setting the tone in the middle of the ground.

Sydney have had a tremendous start to the season with wins over Carlton and Brisbane but last week’s victory was somewhat soured with the news Errol Gulden will be out for 4 months with a shoulder injury and Isaac Heeney is set to miss this fixture with a hamstring niggle

I like the way the Swans have started this season but Gulden and Heeney are simply not replaceable. With 2 major outs for their opponents and home ground advantage I favour the Hawks.

VERDICT: Hawthorn to win by 17 points

Same Game Multi: Jai Serong to get 15 or more disposals, Angus Sheldrick to get 20 or more disposals and Jack Gunston to kick 3 goals or more @ $3.55*

FRIDAY

Adelaide v Western Bulldogs, Adelaide Oval, 4.40pm

Adelaide made a winning start to their campaign in round 1 knocking off the Pies at the MCG by 14 points. Wayne Milera and Josh Worrell were both very good for Adelaide while Riley Thilthorpe was outstanding for the Crows with 3 majors.

The Western Bulldogs were at their dynamic best again in round 1 dismantling the Giants to win by 81 points. Their forward line has looked so dangerous and Naughton (6 goals), Darcy (4 goals) and Bontempelli (3 goals) again cashed in on plenty of supply inside their forward 50.

This is potentially one of the matches of the season in just round 2. I have enormous respect for Adelaide, particularly at home, but I can’t ignore the Doggies form to kick off the 26 season and I’ll lean towards them in a cliffhanger.

VERDICT: Western Bulldogs by 5 points.

Same Game Multi: Either team to win by 39 points or less, Thilthorpe to kick 2 goals or more and Bontempelli to kick 2 goals or more @ $4.10*

SATURDAY

Richmond v Gold Coast, MCG, 10.15am

The Tigers went down in their season opener to the Blues by just 4 points in a game where poor conversion cost them dearly. Tom Lynch was the main culprit with 2 goals and 7 behinds. In fairness to the young side though their endeavour was good and some of their young guns like Lalor and Grlj showed some very encouraging signs.

Gold Coast have come out this season and gone whack whack with wins over Geelong and West Coast by 56 and 59 points respectively. They are looking sharper than a Knight’s sword and are the current flag favourites with TABtouch.

The Suns are airborne and if they maintain that standard of play here they’ll likely win by a margin.

VERDICT: Gold Coast by 46 points.

Same Game Multi: Gold Coast to win by 25 points or more, John Noble and Sam Banks to both get 20 disposals or more and Ben King to kick 3 goals or more @ $3.45*

GWS v Saint Kilda, Engie Stadium, 1.15pm

After recording an impressive win in opening round against the Hawks the Giants were brought back down to earth with a thud last week losing to the Western Bulldogs by 81 points. The fact remains that GWS are missing some really important pieces of their outfit and while that is the case it is hard to be 100% confident of what they will deliver.

After their recruiting spree in the off season it has not gone to plan for the Saints losing their first two games of the season to Collingwood and Melbourne. They have been right in the contest until late in the piece in both of those matches however and they have missed some very gettable shots on goal to shoot themselves in the foot.

With home ground advantage I will favour the Giants in this one but I expect the Saints to be very competitive.

VERDICT: GWS by 7 points

Same Game Multi: Either team to win by 29 points or less, Joe Fonti and Max Hall to both get 15 disposals or more and Jesse Hogan to kick 2 goals or more @ $3.60*

Fremantle v Melbourne, Optus Stadium, 4.35pm

Fremantle were off to a flying start against the Cats only to be run down in the last quarter losing by 10 points. While it was disappointing to cough up a sizeable lead, not too many sides will knock off the Cats on their home turf this season, and there were some very encouraging signs, particularly with some of the increased speed of ball movement. The question marks over Hayden Young’s fitness for this match are concerning for Fremantle fans.

Melbourne started their time under new Coach Steven King in style with a 13 point victory over Saint Kilda. Young forward Jacob Van Rooyen kicked a new PB of 6 goals while former Magpie Brody Mihocek was good with 3 majors and Skipper Max Gawn was magnificent as he always seems to be.

I thought Fremantle would benefit greatly for their first hit out of the season and returning to their home deck at Optus this is a game I expect them to be very hard to beat.

VERDICT: Fremantle by 29 points

Same Game Multi: Fremantle to win by 16 or more, Murphy Reid to get 15 disposals or more, Caleb Serong to get 25 disposals or more, Murphy Reid to kick 1 goal or more & Josh Treacy to kick 2 goals or more @ $3.80*

SUNDAY

Port Adelaide v Essendon, Adelaide Oval, 12.15pm

Port Adelaide had a shabby start to their season last week with North Melbourne handing them a 46 point beating at Marvel Stadium. Port look to lack depth and they will be relying heavily on their topliners Butters, Rozee and Georgiades to carry them to wins in 2026.

Essendon came out of the blocks with some purpose against the Hawks last week but the longer the game went the more the class of Hawthorn took control with the Bombers eventually going down by 62 points. Zach Merrett was again the standout for the Bombers with 32 disposals.

I don’t want to sound harsh but my trust levels with both of these sides is minimal given what I saw last week. Perhaps Port with home ground advantage prevail but it is a low confidence game for me.

VERDICT: Port Adelaide by 17 points

Same Game Multi: Zak Butters and Connor Rozee to get 25 disposals or more and Mitch Georgiades to kick 3 goals or more @ $3.05*

West Coast v North Melbourne, Optus Stadium, 3.10 pm

West Coast had the daunting task of heading to the Gold Coast to take on a fit and firing Suns outfit who proved to be in a different class defeating the Eagles by 59 points. There were some positives for the Eagles though with debutant Milan Murdock managing 22 disposals and 2 goals and Jake Waterman looked threatening up forward finishing with 3 goals.

North Melbourne handed in one of their more impressive performances for some time, easily accounting for Port Adelaide by 46 points. Harry Sheezel, Dylan Stephens, LDU and Luke Parker were all influential for the Kangas while their forward dynamic looked potent with Larkey, Trembath and Zurhaar all amongst the goals

The Kangaroos should have gained some confidence from their opening round win and while I expect West Coast to put up a fight the Kangaroos list build looks a little more advanced.

VERDICT: North Melbourne by 11 points.

Same Game Multi: Nick Larkey, Cooper Trembath and Jake Waterman to all kick 2 goals or more @ $4.*

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